Improvement in cotton-bale ties



VIITNESSES IIVEIITDB l lsv/ww ATTUBNEYS.

NrrED STATES.

Afr rr @Eric HENRY B. JONES, OF BURTON, TEXAS.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-SALE TIES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 159,256, dated February2, 1875; application filed August 29, 1874.

CASE B.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY BRADLY JONES, of Burton, in the county ofWashington and State of Texas, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Cotton-Bale Ties 5 and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a clear and exact description of the same, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and useit, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a partof this specification, and 1n which- Figure l is a plan view of a balehoop and tie contrived according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan ofone of the end portions of the hoop. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectionalelevation of Fig. 1, taken on the line :c 00,' and Fig. 4 is atransverse section taken on the line y y. Y

Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts in all thefigures.

My invention consists in s o constructing a detachable cleat-tie (or onethat is not permanent- 1y secured, by rivets or otherwise, to one end ofthe hoop) that it may be attached instantaneously, when itis desired touse it, to one end of' the hoop or band, and then, subsequently,iastened to the other end; and its object is to provide a detachablecotton-bale tie which may be used without the necessity of iirstbringing the holes in the opposite ends .of the band, into which it isinserted, to register, and which, when adjusted, does not requireturning, while, at the same time, it will keep the hoop iirmly lockedwithout danger of accidentally unlocking from concussion or from othercauses. lt has the additional advantage, that it may be readily unlockedand removed when it is desired to open the bale without injury to thehoop, so that both hoop and tie may be used over and over again.

On the drawing, A represents the hoop or band, which is provided with anumber of openings, B, in each end. My improved detachable cleat-tieconsists of the head E F, shank D, and stop G. The latter is providedwith two laterally-projectin g shoulders, as shown at c c in Fig. 4, sothat when the cleat is inserted through one of the holes B in one end ofthe band, the shoulders c will step against the under side of the band,and thus not only prevent it from passing through, but keep the iiatunder side of the cleat E F parallel to the upper side of the band. Whenthe tie is in this position, the space between the cleat E F and thatend of the band into which it is inserted is just wide enough to providefor the thickness of the opposite end of the band, as shown more clearlyin Fig. 3 on the drawing. The head or cleat is, in shape, the segment ofa circle, and is placed upon the shank Din such a manner as to projectuneven distances on both ends thereof, as shown at E and F, the flat orunder side ot' the cleat being parallel with the shoulders c c of thestop O, and the distance between the two about equal to the thickness ofthe hoop when doubled.

Having thus described my improved detachable cleat-tie, I will nowproceed to describe tlie manner of using it: Then the bale has beensufficiently compressed, the tie is inserted into one of the holes B, ineither end of the hoop, by slipping the cleat through (which is easilydone, as the cleat is narrower than the width of the hole, by firstinserting the projection marked E) until the stop C steps against thehoop. The opposite end of the hoop is then drawn firmly over the baleuntil one of the openings in it reaches the cleat inserted in the otherend, when the lookin g is effected in a moment by tipping the cleat alittle, so as to raise the point E, which is then inserted into thehole, and the hoop is slid over the rounded back until it reaches F,when, by the expansion of the bale, it will step into the notch, andthus be irmly wedged in between the under side of E F and the other endof the hoop, from 'which withdrawal is made impossible by the projectingshoulders c. When it is desired to unlock the hoop, all that isnecessary is to draw the upper end of the hoop (that end which isnearest the bale being considered the lower) out ot' the notch F, when,by the conformation of the top of the cleat, it will of itself, andbythe expansion of the bale, slide over the rounded back or top, and theunlocking is effected without damage either to hoop or tie.

The great drawback tothe use of cleat-ties as ordinarily constructed is,that the space between the cleat and that end of the band into which itis inserted is too narrow to admit of the ready and quick hooking-on ofthe other end of the band, so that frequently two or three attempts haveto be made before a tie is effected. These ties are usually made with aat plate attached to each end of the stud, and pointing in oppositedirections; but I obviate this difficulty by constructing the stop orbase G in the form of a square block, against the back of which thethumb may be pressed, so as to tip the projecting hook E, therebyraising it at an angle to the band, so

HENRY BRADLY JONES.

Witnesses:

JEFFERSON BAssETT, TYRRELL J. RoBERsoN.

